The country is unlikely to meet the target of sending 85,000 guest workers abroad this year due to several problems facing the labour market, . . .
The country is unlikely to meet the target of sending 85,000 guest workers abroad this year due to several problems facing the labour market, including reducing demand, the Department of Overseas Labour has said.

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Jobseekers discuss employment opportunities at a jobs fair organised by the HCM City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. (Photo: VNS)

Only 37,068 workers went overseas in the first half of the year, or 43 per cent of the year’s target, it said.

It included just 1,500 to South Korea, the country’s most reliable market, compared to nearly 4,300 in the same period last year.

Labour recruitment companies said the global recession, labour policy changes in export markets, and risks involved in recruiting guest workers had all taken a toll on business.

The large amount of security they had to deposit as guarantee to enable workers to borrow from banks was also affecting their activities, company officials said.

Nguyen Xuan Vui, director of recruiter Air Services Supply Joint Stock Company (Airserco), said most banks demanded a deposit of 5-10 per cent of the loan amount.

Only in the central province of Thanh Hoa didn’t banks have this requirement, he said.

Out of 40 countries and territories that have so far taken in Vietnamese guest workers, the companies are only focusing on nine markets now: South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Libya.

If prompt remedial measures are not taken, the target cannot be reached this year or next, the companies have warned.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hoa promised comprehensive solutions for the problems.

The ministry would hold consultations on sending guest workers to the Middle East in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News